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Highway Engineering F.A.Q. Page

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1) Who is responsible for my drainage problem?

2) Can I fill in my roadside ditch?

3) Who is responsible for maintaining my road?

4) Has my road been accepted for County maintenance?

5) My road is not a County maintained road. How do I make it one?

6) How do I replace my driveway culvert?

7) How do I obtain a driveway permit?

8) The railroad crossing on my road is in bad shape. How can I get it fixed?

9) How do I get the speed limit lowered on my road?

10) Who do I contact about a missing road sign?

11) What is the right-of-way policy?

Who is responsible for my drainage problem?

1) If a drainage problem occurs in a roadside ditch and within the limits of the documented right-of-way of a publicly (County) maintained road, Warrick County is responsible for addressing the problem. You can report this type of drainage problem to the County Engineering Department.

If a drainage problem occurs within a Legal Drain, Warrick County is responsible for addressing the issue. You can report the drainage problem to Warrick County Surveyor’s Office

Any other type of drainage problem that occurs outside of the documented right-of-way of publicly maintained road; or outside of a Legal Drain is not the responsibility of Warrick County. Check with you Homeowner’s Association or Covenance for further information. However, the Warrick County Surveyor’s Office, under IC 36-9-27.4, will inspect obstructions of natural surface drainage alleged in petitions filed with the Warrick County Drainage Board. You may contact the Warrick County Surveyor’s Office for more information on filling a petition.

Can I fill in my roadside ditch?

2) The Warrick County Engineering Department strongly discourages the installation of a covered pipe in roadside ditches. When a ditch is piped, its capacity is less than the pre-existing open channel. Restricting the flow of roadside ditches can lead to drainage problems for other properties in the area. Also improper installation of the ditch pipe can even further aggravate local drainage problems.

However, we do issue ditch enclosure permits with no fee to ensure the proper design is implemented and documented for possible drainage problems in the future. You can either call or email your request to the Engineering Department. If you email please be sure to include a name, address, contact number and location of ditch in relation to your property. The permit will go through the design and approval process. The approved application with the proper specifications for your ditch enclosure will be mailed to you.

Who is responsible for maintaining my road?

3) Maintenance responsibility depends on whether or not the road in question has been accepted by the Board of County Commissioners for county maintenance. If a road has been accepted, it is Warrick County’s responsibility to maintain the road within the known Right-of-Way either through the County Highway Department or competitively bid contracts for certain jobs. If a road has not been accepted, it is considered a privately maintained road and the maintenance responsibilities generally fall on the property owners who adjoin and/or access the road.

Has my road been accepted for County maintenance?

4) If the road you live on is not a publicly maintained road, then it probably does not meet the minimum Warrick County Road Standards. If you would like to have your road accepted for public maintenance, you should first contact the County Engineering Department.

The Engineering Department will inspect and evaluate the road, as it currently exists. A letter will then be sent to the petitioning party outlining any and all existing insufficiencies and explaining what measures will need to be taken to bring the road into compliance with the Warrick County Road Standards.

Once the letter has been received, the petitioning party should hire a consultant to prepare a set of road plans that meet the County Road Standards. The consultant should be a Professional Engineer, licensed to practice in the State of Indiana.

The consultant will submit road plans to the County Engineer for review. Once the plans meet the Engineer’s approval, the plans will then go to the next County Commissioners meeting for final approval.

Upon final approval of the road plans, a Contractor should be hired by the petitioning party to build the road. The Contractor should be licensed, bonded and have experience in road construction. During the construction, the Engineering Department will perform the proper inspections for acceptance of the street. If the construction passes all inspections, the Engineering Department will recommend before the Board of County Commissioners that the road be accepted for maintenance.

My road is not a County maintained road. How do I make it one?

5) If the road you live on is not a publicly maintained road, then it probably does not meet the minimum Warrick County Road Standards. If you would like to have your road accepted for public maintenance, you should first contact the County Engineering Department.

How do I replace my driveway culvert?

6) Driveway culverts are not Warrick County’s responsibility, but the responsibility of the property owners. However, the Warrick County Engineering Department regulates driveway culverts by issuance of permits. This allows the proper design of culverts which in turn alleviates the potential flooding of roads, driveways, and properties.

Driveway culverts that have been damages, are deteriorating, or are of inadequate size should be replaced to maintain proper drainage and to protect your driveway entrance.

If your driveway accesses a publicly maintained road and your driveway culvert needs to be replaced contact the APC for a permit application. Once the permit has been applied for, the Engineers Office will inspect the site. The approved application will then provide the requirements and recommendations such as pipe material, size, and length.

In the permit application, you will have a choice of two options for the installation of the new culvert. You may elect to perform the work privately (by yourself or hire a contractor) or you may choose to have the County Highway Department install your pipe. In either case, you will be responsible for purchasing the culver. If you choose to have the County Highway install your pipe there is no charge for their work. Once you permit has been approved, you will need to contact the County Highway Department to schedule the installation. Please be aware that the work will be scheduled at the County Highway Department’s convenience.

How do I obtain a driveway permit?

7) In order to construct a driveway on your property to access a public maintained road you will need to file a driveway permit with the Area Plan Commission. Once a permit has been applied for you will need to make sure that the driveway location is marked with the flags given by the APC.

The Engineer’s office will inspect the site and return the permit with requirements and recommendations, including whether or not a driveway culvert will be required. If a culvert is required you have two installation options. You may perform the installation privately (by yourself or by a contractor) or you may contact the County Highway Department to install your pipe. If you elect the County to perform the work you will be responsible for purchasing the pipe that is required. You will be responsible for contacting the County Highway Department to schedule the installation. The County will not charge you for their work, but please be aware that the work will be scheduled at the County Highway Department’s convenience.

The railroad crossing on my road is in bad shape. How can I get it fixed?

8) The Railroad Companies are responsible for the maintenance of their crossings. If there is a railroad crossing on your road that needs some repair, you will need to contact the Railroad that owns that track and make them aware of the problem.

If you need help finding which Railroad Company owns the tracks you may contact the County Engineering Department. The Engineering Department can also try to contact the responsible Railroad Company and make them aware of the situation.

How do I get the speed limit lowered on my road?

9) The speed limits on County maintained roads in Warrick County are established in the Warrick County Code. The default speed limit for roads in Warrick County is 30 miles per hour, unless posted otherwise.

If you think that the speed limit on your road is too high, you can contact the Warrick County Engineering Department to request a lower speed limit. This request will then be sent to the Evansville MPO to have a speed study performed. Once the MPO completes their study and furnishes us with a copy of their results, we will request an amendment if such a change is warranted. To determine that the speed limit is warranted, we look at the 85^th percentile speed as calculated in the speed study report along with the geometric conditions, environment, and the number of existing driveways as well.

Who do I contact about a missing road sign?

10) Signs are only replaced by Warrick County if they are on a publicly maintained roadway. If there is a county road sign missing please contact the Engineering Department and the sight will be inspected as soon as possible. The Highway Department will then be contacted to complete the work order and install the sign according to their own schedule.

What is the right-of-way policy?

11) The Warrick County Engineering Department’s policy is to be as conservative when claiming the existence of public right-of-way. Unless reliable documentation can be found to the contrary, the right-of-way for any given publicly (County) maintained road is assumed to be limited to the physical limits of the road surface.